Behind the Songs: All That Money Wants

A selection of quotes from The Psychedelic Furs on the song "All That Money Wants".

Vince Ely: "[All Of This And Nothing's] also got the recent single 'All That Money Wants' which gets back to basics, to the original sound of the first album. It's fairly representative of the approach for the new album we're recording at the moment, rather than the more commercial sound of [Midnight To Midnight].

"I think the band has backed off from a commercial approach even though it's easier to write that sort of song. We never expected 'Money' to be a hit – though we did think it would do better than it did – and to be honest, I think a hit single would actually work against us now." (Evening Post 1988)

Richard Butler: "The inspiration behind 'All That Money Wants' is just – it's just about people wanting money too much and you know, seeing just, that there's nothing really to it." (Interchords 1988)

Richard Butler: "I'm most happy that it has got some alternative play. It is good to see that it is getting played where it is most important to get played." (L.A. Life 1988)

Richard Butler: "The person in the song is dissatisfied and constantly pushing toward success. Then when he gets it, it rings hollow.

"Musically, it isn't far from the truth. If I found out anything in music, it is that you have to please yourself. If you are trying to reach (more) people, that is when you do your worst songs." (L.A. Life 1988)

Richard Butler: "We wanted [the music video] to be really low-key. We were rehearsing and then taped what they wanted." (L.A. Life 1988)

Richard Butler: "We wanted to release a new single and also wanted something new to be on [All Of This And Nothing]. I think it fits in better than tracks off Midnight To Midnight. The mood is very much like a song from the album Forever Now, which is why it follows 'President Gas' and feels right." (Melody Maker 1988)

Richard Butler: "We've decided to write the next album really fast. This is one of the three songs we have for it at the moment. When you rush yourself, when you force yourself into that position, that's when the music works best." (Melody Maker 1988)

Richard Butler: "That's the new song we did with Stephen Street, who's worked with The Smiths [and] worked with Morrissey recently. I like it, it's kind of like a bit of a return to the old sound of the band that we had. It's more layered, it's kind of a bit more mysterious directly." (MTV Europe 1988)

Richard Butler (on the video): "We didn't really want to go and make, you know, like we are doing in the music. We wanted to take a step back from it from being very, very produced. So we told the guy [director Walter Pitt] that – we were actually rehearsing upstate in New York and we just told him to try and work the film around. Just watching us rehearse and just watching us walk around and not try and make it so we had to stand there smashing guitars like it was in the song and all that kind of business. And they actually talked me into singing round the song for him a couple of times because I didn't even want to do that. But he came to me and said, 'Well look, we've been filming you but we've only managed to get about five seconds of you so far. So would you run through it?' So, I said yeah." (MTV Europe 1988)

Richard Butler: "'All That Money Wants' is about dissatisfaction with America." (New Musical Express 1988)

Richard Butler: "It was me saying that I'd learned that success isn't what it's all about and money isn't what it's all about." (Austin American Statesman 1990)

Richard Butler: "It was about the success of Midnight To Midnight, and how people began to look at me as this commercial commodity—and that's all they were interested in. I found out that wasn't very satisfying." (Chicago Tribune 1991)

John Ashton: "Richard came to visit. This is what came out. This was the first step in the 'Let's get back to our roots' period. A personal favorite of mine, it had an 'Indie' feel, due in part to our new direction and Stephen Street's production." (Should God Forget liner notes, 1997)

Photo: Gene Shaw